Merchandise handling unit



United States Patent Office Patented Aug. 24:, 1265 3,202,438 MERCHANDISE HANDLING UNET Wallace 3. Panlrnin, Kansas City, Mo., and Morris Kaufman, Morton Grove, 111., assignors to Elrco Products Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 25, 1963, Ser. No. 275,635 1 Claim. (Cl. 2811-42) This invention relates to a merchandise handling unit for use in the transport and storage of merchandise, such for example as bread loaves and other baked goods, while such merchandise is supported on trays or the like, and said unit presents a forwardly open load containing area defined by a pair of opposed side wall members equipped with aligned shelf rails on which said trays are supported in vertically spaced relation and on which said .trays are slideable toward and away from a supported position within said area.

An important object of the present invention is to pro vide a unit of the character indicated wherein said side members are adjustable to occupy positions at selected distances apart to accommodate trays of varying dimension measured lengthwise of the distance between said side members while also allowing said side members to be collapsed when the unit is not in use so as to occupy a comparatively small space.

Still another object resides in the provision of novel means for conveniently and expeditiously maintaining the side members in selected adjusted spaced apart positions.

With the above and other objects in view, this invention resides in the novel features of form, construction, arrangement and combination of parts presently described and pointed out in the claim.

FIG. 1 is a top View of a merchandise handling unit according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the unit shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a rear view.

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the unit as it appears in a collapsed state.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary enlarged view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 1.

Referring specifically to the drawing, a rack unit representing one embodiment of the present invention includes duplicate side members each defined by a series of tray supportin angle bars 111 and a pair of columns or corner posts 11 and 12 to which the bars 111 are secured along spaced parallel lines in bridging relation to the posts 11 and 12. while said posts 11 and 12 occupy spaced parallel positions in selected angular relation to the angle supports 10.

The posts 11 and 12 are maintained in upright relation with the angle bars 1% of each side member opposite to and in horizontal alignment with the bars 111 of the other side member by an interconnection between the posts 12 of each side member. Means establishin such interconnection includes a pair of link arms 13 and 14 arranged in criss-cross relation and joined at the intersection by a pivot 15 about which said arms 13 and 14 have relative angular movement. The side members are joined in forwardly projecting relation to the path in which said arms 13 and 14 move about pivot 15 via pivot bolts 16 entering the lower ends of arms 13 and 14 and lower end portions of posts 12 respectively overlapped by said arms 13 and 14, and pivot bolts 17 entering upper ends of arms 13 and 14 and upper end portions of posts 12 respectively overlapped by said arms 13 and 14. Pivot bolt 17 enters posts 12 via a slot 18 whereby the upper ends of arms 13 and 14 are permitted to move upward and downward of the posts 12 to accommodate relative angular movement of the arms 13 and 14 and resulting variation of the distance separating the side members.

As shown in FIG. 5, a bushing 19 surrounds the shank portion of the pivot bolt 17 within the confines of the slot 13. A nylon washer 20 carried on bushing 19 is positioned between the frontward facing surface of post 12 along the edges of slot 18 and an annular head 21 at frontward end of bushing 19, and a nut 22 with which the bolt 17 has threaded connection in frontward relation to the head 21 of bushing 19, is effective to apply clamping pressure along the surface of the post '12 engaged by nylon washer 20 in response to rearward stress on the bolt 17. A second nylon washer 23 carried on bushing 19 is positioned between the rearward facing surface of post 12 along the edges of slot 18 and the surface of the arm 13 opposite thereto and between the corresponding surface of the other post 12 and the surface of arm 14- opposite thereto.

Each bolt 17 terminates in a rearwardly projecting head portion 25 having opposed flat sides along parallel planes extending lengthwise of the axis of the bolt. A camrning lever 26 has opposed wing portions 27 between which said head portion 25 of the bolt is receivable. A pivot pin 28 extends through said wing portions 27 of the lever 26 and a portion of the head 25 confined therebetween to establish an axis about which the lever 26 may be swung relative to the bolt between an active position in rearwardly extending relation to said bolt 17 and an inactive position in downwardly extending relation to the bolt. The interconnection thus established via said pivot pin 28 permits the use of the lever 26 as an operating member for turning the bolt about its own longitudinal axis to effect advancement or retraction of the bolt 17 relative to the nut 22 according to selected adjusted positions of the nut 22 on said bolt. A washer 29 of metallic or other suitable material slideably supported on the bolt 17 in rearwardly facing relation to the lever provides an abutment surface with which the forwardly facing edge portion of the lever 26 is engageable when the lever is in active position to apply such rearward stress on the bolt relative to the washer as to firmly retain said posts 12 and the arms 13 and 14 in fixed relation.

As the edge portion of the lever 26 is disengaged from said washer 29 incident to movement of the lever 26 from active to inactive position, pressure of the lever 26 against the washer is relieved to provide a release of pressure between washer 23 .and surfaces of the posts 12 and the arms 13 and 14 separated by said washer so as to permit the arms 13 and 14 to assume selected angular positions about the pivot 15 corresponding to a desired spacing of the side members defined by the posts 11 and 12.

As shown in FIG. 2, the unit may be provided with a pair of ground engaging wheels 311 arranged for rotation coaxially of a line parallel to the path of angular movement of arms 13 and 14 and along the rearward transverse limits of the unit. A pair of stationary ground engaging supports 31 arranged along a line parallel to the axis of the wheels 30 and spaced forwardly of said wheels 31), cooperate with said wheels to maintain the tray supporting angle bars 10 on each side member in rearward and slightly downwardly inclined relation to a horizontal supporting surface with which said wheels 30 and supports 31 have downward engagement.

The unit is accordingly tiltable between forwardly and rearwardly rocked positions about said wheels 31) as an axis and the camming levers 26 while in active, rearwardly extending position provide handles about which the hands of an operator may be comfortably flexed to control the titled position of the unit as required for rolling the unit from place to place.

As shown in FIG. 5, the lever 26 is locked against movement between upward and downward positions by turning the bolt 17 .to locate the axis defined by pivot 28 along a line travelled by the lever 26 between such upward and downward positions; While thus positioned in rearwardly extending position as shown in FIG. 5, the lever 26 has downward engagement with a lug 32 sheared and bent rearwardly from the posts 11 and 12 whereby :the lever 26 is prevented from being rotated aboutfthe bolt 17 as an axis in the direction of said lug while in such rearwardly extending relation and while the pivot 28 is located to block' such upward and downward movement of thelever 26.

r 'A flexible cable 33 joining upper end portions of the front posts 11, and a second flexible cable 34 joining lower end portions of the front posts 11 establish limits 'within which the side members are spaced :1 distance apart along said front posts compatible with the maximum through which said side members, are positioned to occupy opposed parallel upright planes in forwardly extending ;relation to said connecting means at variable distances apart, said connecting means including a pair of link arms pivoted together'inscissor-like relation and a pivotal connection between said side members and the upper and lower ends of said link arms, said latter pivotal connection including a vertically extending slot in each side member and a connecting member joining said side member and the link arm associated therewith via said slot to accommodate vertical movement of the link arm relative to said side member incident to relative movement'of said link arms, each connecting member having a threaded forward end portion with which a nut has threaded engagement and each connecting member'having a head at its rearward end, and means for locking said side members in fixed relational; selected distancesapart including a lever hinged to each connecting member via a pivot pin joining said lever to the head of the connecting member with which it is associated whereby said lever is movable relat-ive to said connecting member in planes in radial relation to the'axis of the pivotal connection between 'said side members and said link arms between a horizontally swung locking position in rearwardly extending relation to said connecting member and a downwardly swung released position in collapsed relation to said connecting member, saidlever having a handle portion about which the hand of an operator may be comfortablyfiexed for propelling aor otherwisemoving the unit. 7 1

References Cited by the Examiner v UNITED STATES PATENTS 924,386 6/09 Shek. r 2,434,998 1/48 Goldman 280-42 3,093,386' 6 63 Case 280 42 VARTVHU'R' LQ LA PO NT; Primary Examiner. 

